Who Invented the Bessemer Process

The process of making steel is referred to as Bessemer process and it was invented by Henry Bessemer in the year 1856 in England. He received the patent right for invention of this process. It is the first and foremost method of making steel with a low and affordable cost and was named after the inventor.

Even though Henry Bessemer received the patent for Bessemer process as his invention, it was independently discovered by William Kelly in 1851. Long before the invention, the same process had been used outside the European countries for hundreds of years, but with limited scope. William Kelly after much research and experiments discovered the process of making steel being used in several countries.

In this process, compressed air is blown into the bottom region of the converter. The converter appears like a cement mixer in a furnace shape with molten pig iron. Since its invention, it has superseded the other efficient steel making process. Key factor of the process is the removal of impurities and contaminations from the iron by oxidation which is accomplished by blowing the air through molten iron. Modern steel is made using this technology. The oxidation helps to raise the temperature of the iron and keep it molten.